Come Lord Jesus!

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.Psalm 27:13

Have you ever just wished Jesus would come back and you could be beamed up? Your heart aches over a loss, a misunderstanding, the state of the world, violence and angry eruptions.

Each of us is here not by accident even though sometimes you may feel you are but God ordained us to be here for such a time as this. He knew all about this chaos before it happened. Atheists would say then “why didn’t your God stop it” and I say because he can use it for His greater purposes.

These times have been very different and unexpected but God has a plan and His purposes will prevail. When you are feeling down why not go somewhere and spread joy. Things like writing your mom a letter if she is still living. Treating a friend to coffee. Serving another when unexpected. Helping others gets you out of the deepest pit you may be in. Keep praying as God is on the throne.

PRAYER: Father the times we are in are super divided and only the Holy Spirit can cause hearts and minds to change. Bring healing from those wounded by someone or hurt by words. Help me Lord as I seek to be an instrument of peace not division. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Who Is In Control Anyway?

“You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. Deuteronomy 8:17-18

Who exactly is in control of life anyway? Maybe up until Covid 19 2020 you thought you were. All of us found out otherwise. Freedom loving people were told to shelter in place. Say what? 

Through this, hopefully you have used your down time wisely and you may have been one who worked remotely from home so no real free time to speak of. My prayer is you were able to gain good things as a result of sheltering in place as well. 

There are those  people,  I am sure,  who had no appreciation of the good things we enjoy here in America and hopefully this was their wake up call. Don’t assume anything cause you just don’t know. My hope is that your trust is in the Almighty God even more. 

PRAYER: Worthy is the name of the Lord and I thank you for his gifts and goodness. Forgive me for thinking things were ever all about me. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Renewing Your Mind

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.Romans 12:2

When you renew your mind it is not like renewing a library book, a club membership and the like that only takes one moment in a certain select period of time. Renewing of your mind is a DAILY process you must do as a follower of Christ in order to recognize lies of the enemy.

So you are wondering how you do this? You have to get into the word of God in a version you can understand. The Bible is the best tool in your arsenal for fighting spiritual battles but if you don’t hide God’s word in your heart and know some verses by memory how will you engage in battle with demonic forces all around you?

May I suggest to do a word study on the mind? It will produce many good verses and some you may even want to commit to memory. When you toss and turn with all sorts of mental turmoil ask yourself are you really trusting God and release your issue to the Almighty and let your mind get renewed.

PRAYER: I am lost without the daily dose of the Word to strengthen me, renew me and keep me going on the right path. When I have doubted I start to sink and I know what I need to do and that is run to the throne of God and get into the word and prayer. This Covid 19 time has been mental torment for many and I pray for those people who need to trust in God and let fear stop dragging them down. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

You Will Bear Much Fruit

                    

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.1 John 3:9

Seeds of joy, do you plant many of them? How about peace seeds?

As a believer we are to be bearing ‘fruit’ for the kingdom but that is difficult to do when knowingly engaging in wrong thinking, attitudes, and behavior. (See Galatians 5).

Let go of junk you know is not good. Wrong thinking. Bitterness. Bad friends. Wanting everyone to like you. Obsession with social media. Telling innocent lies or stretching the truth. Being dishonorable. Your fruit will only grow when the ‘soil’ of your heart is prepared by leading a life to glorify God and not Satan.

PRAYER: Father I need to ‘weed’ the garden of my heart tearing out those things that make me want to slip into wrong behaviors and wrong thinking. Help me gain discipline to not  say I glorify you when in fact I immerse myself more in secular things than in your word. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Easy Terms, Free Delivery

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.John 6:44-45

Somehow there are those folks who probably think living for Jesus is boring and no way do they want to mess with going to Heaven as it will probably just be angels, people in choir robes, and a pipe organ playing. 

You may be in a denomination and because of certain ‘rituals’ think you are going to Heaven. That is how I was until an experience with the Holy Spirit opening my eyes to the truth on 19 March 1975. I grew up ‘churched’ doing all the right things in my denomination to say I was a Christian and indeed I was but I was not ‘following’ the Lord nor on fire for Him. 

There are ‘easy terms’ to being saved and set free and ‘free delivery’ into the Heavenly kingdom upon taking your last breath here on Earth when God has called you home. Are you certain beyond a shadow of a doubt if you died today you would be in Heaven? Many people are scared of dying more than ever now due to fear from this pandemic. You don’t have to be scared. Say “Jesus come into my heart and set me free. Forgive me of my sins. I want to live for you.” Now go enjoy your day and be a blessing in someone’s life. 

PRAYER: There are  days the enemy tries to torture me with getting my mind off Christ and causes me to cave to fear. Even as a child of God it happens. Help me be alert to enemies tricks. Help me be able to share Christ of someone were to ask me how I can have hope in troubled times. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Humility, Honor, Respect

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'”1 Peter 5:5

Humility, honor, and respect can all be lumped together when speaking of those who are younger being kind and respectful to their elders. In this self sufficient time it may be easy to put ‘self’ out in front. 

Older people who have been there, done that, got the tee shirt so to speak are worth talking to and learning from. If you are in your 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s don’t be so quick to write off those above 50. There is so much wisdom to be gained from their experiences and work. 

When it comes to humility do you seek the glory or do you give credit to God who makes all things possible. Just something to ponder.

PRAYER: Oh Lord I know in the past I may have shown dishonor or disrespect to those who I thought were ‘old’ forgive me. Also Lord when I do something help me not seek my own glory and fame but know it is you who has given me power to do what I do. Help me remember that inside of every person who looks old or elderly is a young person screaming to be loved, cherished, and respected. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Why Do The Heathen Rage?

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the LORD, and he will lift you up.James 4:7-10

Riots, killings, looting, fires, tear gas, racial division, political hatred, where does it come from? I will tell you where. The pit of hell! Satan is having so much fun watching America tear itself apart. At one moment we were all united watching the launch of Spacex then next we see America falling apart.

Brothers and sisters there is so much misinformation out there. False news reports, social media, viral posts, even ministers of the gospel get ridiculed. What is going on? Why do even believers get caught up in it and chime in and not try to stop it? How do you do that? Self control,prayer, and get secluded with God and your Bible and let Him speak to you.

How do you expect to have things change if it is all a passing fad or joke? The sheer hatred and blaming our President for everything is even coming from believers. Friend, the devil hates America and he uses all kinds of lies, deception, and evil schemes to do His work. Are you in his camp if so my prayer is you are set free to get off social media, allegiance to a political party, turn OFF the news, put down the newspaper and fall deeply in love with God Almighty! Who is with me? Who is with God?

PRAYER: Jesus this world is lost without you. I am sorry for times I have gone crazy on social media and not first prayed. I ask you to open the eyes of those in my circle of influence who may be captivated by lies from Hell and not even see it. Guide my speech to not utter anything negative about anyone. Come Holy Spirit and fill the atmosphere. In Jesus’ name. Amen.